Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1887-07-29
NOSE STUBBSS BOY.
BY EMILE TOLMAN.

BY EMILE ToLMAN.
"Gen'ral! 600 Gcn'ralp
A stout negro woman, after uttering
this cry several times, turned slowly back
to her cabin, muttering to herself,
What's dat good-fur- muffin chap at
uowf'
Just then a bundle of rags, with d
pair of black feet at one end, and woolly
head, surrounded by the fragments of a
straw hat at the other, came slowly up
the yard.
"Here is, ma" drawled the lad.
An lucky fur yer, too" answered the
woman, with an air that hintel at dire
full consequences in case he had failed TO
appear at that exact minute. "Now,
Central, want yer to tote dis yer basket
oh clo'es ober to de Pint, to Miss Ben
sons; an dom yer be long bout it,
uuthcr."
General placed the basket on his head,
and, with his hands in his pockets,
walked c@mposedly down the alley.
General was born soon aEterhis parents
were pronounced "contraband of war"
by General Butler; and, out of gratitude
for his protection, they named their son
General Butler Stubs, and General he
was always called. His father, Moses
Stubs, managed by oystering and doing
odd jobs that fell in his way TO keep his
large family from starving, but could do
little more than that.
The cabin which they ca!le home was
little, one-story shanty, leaning discon-
solately against mud chimney which
looked scarcely able to support itself, not
to mention holding up the house besides.
1t consisted of one room, and that not
large; but it managed to contain at night
Moses Stubs, his wife, aud seven chill
dren, OF whom General, now a lad of
thirteen, was the oldest. say at night,
for it would hardly accommodate so
many people awake and moving about
If it ever Glanced that they were all at
home during the day some of them would
sit out in the yard One of those numer-
Gus inlets from the sea which intersect
tlf eastern part of Virginia came up close
to their back door, This was, on some
accounts great convenience, for at low
tide they dug out of the mud many
good meal of clans and oysters.
General had once been to school few
weeks, and had leared to read easy words
in large print, an accomplishment of
which his mother was very proud; but
now he was old enough to help at home,
he was not allowed to continue the pur-
suit of learning. He still kept in a ch;nk
between the boards or the cabin, with
broken knife blade and a piece of col
ored glass, q few leaves of book, which
he had vague idea would some day
prove the "open sesame" of knowledge
and riches.
The young lady for whom Mrs. Stubs
washed smiled kindly at the queer, tat
tered figure, as she took the basket of
clothes
"What is your name?" She inquired.
General Butler Stubbs.
"What are you going to do to earn
such a name, Generaln
Don't know, Miss" said General,
with puzzled expression, for he had no
idea his name was more peculiar than
Tom or Dick.
"The business of general is to fight
and conquer the enemy" continued the
lady. "What enemy are you going to
conquer?"
''Dey done fit de wah, Mics. Ma she
heard de guns wh2n dey fit at Big
Bethel"
"But, General, there are other battles
to be fought. Perhaps you are the one
who is going to fight against sin an ig-
uarance."
II reckon I is, Miss" said the lad,
with a growing feeling of Importance,
though with but vague idea of the
meaning of her words.
'Dis yer General should orter fight
'gainst sin m ignorance, he said to him
self on his way home. cod Father
Parker say tits sin to play marbles, he
thought, as he saw a group of boys in
dulging in that amusement, and recalled
a powerful discourse he had heard few
Sundays previous on the text: MARBLE
not, bretheren.n
He ouickened his space, with the idea
of beginning the fight against sin then
and there, by pitching into those bad
boys at once; but it suddenly occurred
to him that he himself had been guilty of
playing marbles on the day before, and
even now was in possession of two of
those wicked, fascinating toys. He tried
to forget them, but could not. They
seemed to burn in his pocket, and at last,
as he crossed the bridge, he held them
behind him, so that he could not see
them, and dropped them into the water.
Poor, foolish, ignorant General! But
perhaps this hard-won victory was not
In vain; it may have made him stronger
to fight the real enemy.
A few days after this there came a very
high tide, and the Stubbs family was
obliged to move out of their little cabin,
and find what accommodations they could
among their neighbors.
Dar's right smart OBJ us" said the
General to himself, "an' it's pretty
night; so Use just gwine to stay out"
and he strolled aim essly along toward
ode Pint" He passed the hotel, and
came out upon the sandy beach which
lies in front of Fortress Monroe.
On one side were the high ramparts,
bristling with guns, and on the other
the broad expanse of the Chesapeake.
When darkness came on, he stretched
himself on the sand close to the water
battery, and fell asleep. He awoke after
a short nap, feeling uncomfortably cool,
and began to consider what he could do
to better his situation.
On the beach, short distance from
the water-battery, was monster gun,
which was lying there ready for ship
ment. Into this he crawled, feet fore
most. and found to his satisfaction that it
afforded protection from the wind, and
was, therefore, warmer than his bed on